Right-wing organizations have become an important part of the Israeli government’s propaganda “machine,” a new report has found.

The ruling coalition formed in Israel earlier this year has established a ministry for “public diplomacy,” with the aim of stepping up cooperation between the state and nominally independent groups supporting Zionism. A report published today by the Alternative Information Center in Jerusalem documents how the ministry’s establishment follows a decade-long trend whereby the government has increasingly assigned tasks to certain organizations.

One of the best examples of this cooperation involves the settler group Elad. Also known as the Ir David Foundation, Elad has been given formal responsibility for managing the Kingdom of David park in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Elad’s efforts to prove that the remnants of an ancient Jewish kingdom can be found there have been used as a pretext for expelling Palestinians so…